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From the category archives:
Challenging the "Release Fast and Iterate" Gospel
by Brian Blum on January 5, 2010
in Entrepreneurs,Product Management,Products
When I spoke with Amit Elisha of OutBrain a few weeks ago, we discussed the company's software release strategy.
OutBrain operates under what's considered the new Gospel of product development: get a basic version out there with a minimum number of features and maybe even a few known bugs, make it free, then let your users flood you with feedback so you can iterate and build your next version better.
Continue this process until you climb out of alpha into beta and eventually to a fully functional product (which, to follow Google's prolonged beta label example, could take many years).
Jason Cohen
An interesting article by Jason Cohen, the founder of Smart Bear Software, on the On Startups blog challenges this methodology. Releasing too early and relying on the power of the crowd, he suggests, can potentially harm your reputation and potentially kill your product.
He uses the iPod as an example. Apple designed its game changing music device far away from the public eye. If it had been part of a release-and-iterate cycle, he says, could Apple possibly have gotten away with building a battery-powered device where you can't change the battery! Or one without an FM radio (which was already included in many early iPod competitors – it's finally been added to the new iPod Nano years later).
"Disruptive products by definition cannot be built by consensus," he writes. "''Design by committee' is a sure-fire way to get mediocre design."
Cohen presents additional points to back up his hypothesis.
Startups often invoke the 80/20 rule that says you can implement just 20% of your features because that's what 80% of your users want anyway. But Cohen says that doesn't apply the way you think it does. The truth is that 80% of your customers use a different 20% from each other. So you need to push out more features, not less, to satisfy a larger cross-section.
Twitter is often trotted out as a classic example of "get it out fast," but it's a bad one. While the service quickly gained a large and rabid following, it has been suffering from backend scalability problems ever since. Twitter has sufficient capital and some super-smart engineers who can work around the clock to fix what ails it, but your two-person startup may not be so lucky if you release before you're ready.
Customers don't actually know what they want. "They're much better at describing what's difficult in their life, what frustrates them, or what takes up a lot of their time," Cohen writes. But did anyone ever say "gee, I wish that I could send a video ringtone to my friends" (this is an idea that only a couple of smart entrepreneurs could think up).
Over the last 20 years, I've built or been a part of a team building a number of products. When I was working at CD-ROM developer Mindscape, I got into a huge fight with my boss over when to release a product that I had been toiling over for the better part of a year. The company had sales orders from its distributors, but I knew the product was still buggy and wasn't ready.
Even worse, this was in the pre-Internet days; once the CD was shipped, it would take a new budget allocation to fix it, which I knew would be hard to obtain. When I was essentially given a choice – ship the product or pack your bags – I opted for prudence.
More recently, though, I fell victim to my own emotional involvement with a product that would have done better to release early and iterate. I got so caught up in getting it right, I didn't realize that the business model was wrong, something that would have become apparent if users had a chance to kick the tires.
Two other examples from opposite poles:
1) Craigslist – if ever there was a bottom up, build it fast and they will come approach to web development, Craigslist would be the poster child. Of course, Craigslist got stuck after the first round of iteration – the site hasn't been functionally updated for years, but it works and no one's complaining.
2) The Apple Newton – this is not so much an example of slapped together product development, but it nevertheless demonstrates how a bad start can sink a product. The world's first PDA came out in the early 1990s. It was a revolutionary product but "the handwriting recognition sucked and there weren't a lot of apps," Cohen explains. The public's response: "it doesn't do a lot and what it does do doesn't work well." By the time Apple addressed its myriad problems, it was too late.
Ultimately, there's no clear-cut approach. I tend to lean towards the "you've got only one chance to make a first impression" direction but, as a number of comments on Cohen's blog post argued, not every company is Apple.
"They have the money and market control needed to focus on building a complete product at the expense of time to market," writes Paul May. "Few startups have this luxury."
What do you think? Which direction is more likely to lead to success…or kill a company? I'd love to hear from you in the comments to this post.
Tagged as: Craigslist, Entrepreneurs, Product Management, Twitter
$10 for Crying Out Loud
in Entrepreneurs,Israel,Product Management,Products
Outbrain is a company I like a lot. It has a seemingly simple product that provides some very useful functionality: content rating and recommendations for blogs.
Follow the easy installation instructions and Outbrain will allow your readers to give your latest post a 1-5 score. Then, based on Outbrain's massive database of reader tastes and web content, the Outbrain widget that displays on your blog will point visitors to related articles that Outbrain has determined they might find interesting.
Yes, it directs visitors away from your blog, but it also has the potential to turn your site a mini-destination site. (You can see Outbrain at work on this blog – scroll to the end of any post.)
When the company raised a sizable second round of financing earlier this year, a lot of brows were furrowed: $12 million for a blog plug-in? Investors must have had a sneak preview of the company's latest feature, launched earlier this month: an enhancement that allows publishers to pay for premium placement of their content.
The new goodie is called OutLoud and it costs $10 per URL. Featured content appears at the top of the Outbrain recommendations list and is clearly labeled. Without OutLoud, Outbrain uses its own algorithms to suggest content.
OutLoud can be used in two ways. A publisher can let Outbrain control which sponsored recommendations appear; Outbrain will then split revenue with the blog publisher.
Alternatively, a publisher can set up the OutLoud service to work as an internal referral engine: only URLs from the publisher will appear. This can be used to generate more traffic within a single property or on a network of sites owned by the same publisher.
At first glance, $10 might seem like a no brainer for a small to medium sized online publisher, but it quickly adds up. And the $10 fee per URL is only for a month. You have to pay up if you want the sponsored link to keep going.
Outbrain says that the service is aimed at a number of target clients:
Marketers who want to drive word-of-mouth by amplifying positive reviews about their company.
Individual bloggers who want to promote their most brilliant posts.
Public relations professionals looking for new ways to distribute releases
Social media gurus who can push out articles from a corporate blog to drive traffic.
With such a cool product, I wondered what product management is like at Outbrain. Amit Elisha, who directs the process, says that the days of long and involved specs with accompanying Photoshop images are long gone. "We were work on a very fast 3-4 week release cycle," Elisha said. "We prefer UI (user interface) mock ups over technical documentation, which we keep very brief."
Elisha's tool of choice is Balsamiq Mockups which makes it incredibly easy to create a wireframe. I tried it out and it lives up to the hype with a truly drag and drop interface. Thanks Amit for the tip!
Elisha has been with the company since August of last year and moved from Israel, where Outbrain started, to New York for the job. I asked him my favorite question about what parts of product management could be outsourced. None, he said. Outsourced people don't have the same stake in the company. "We hire people with a certain DNA," he added.
For publishers looking to generate additional revenue, OutLoud certainly looks promising, although it will take some time before the service has the critical mass to add up to more than just some extra change. On the other hand, it's free to install and Outbrain doesn't add its own branding or links back to the Outbrain site.
Outbrain was founded by Yaron Galai and Ori Lahav. The 25-person company has headquarters in New York with R&D in Israel. The latest round was led by Carmel Ventures with previous investors Gemini, Lightspeed and GlenRock Israel filling out the round. Total raised to date: just over $18 million.
Tagged as: Advertising, Blog, Israel, Monetization, Newspapers, Publishers
The Serendipity Effect in Social Media
by Brian Blum on November 9, 2009
in Classified Advertising,Product Management,Social Media
Image from Mary Lindsay's blog
When the web first started becoming paramount in how people consumed news, there was a lot written about the dangers of information "narrowcasting" and how it would result in a populace that knew little about what happening outside their own limited sphere of interest. Traditional print newspapers and magazines were lauded because by their very nature they enable readers to serendipitously stumble across news they might not have searched for on Google.
An interesting interview on a recent episode of NPR's On the Media with Ethan Zuckerman of Harvard's Berkman Center, and Clive Thompson, a writer for Wired and The New York Times Magazine, suggested that – surprisingly – social media could be an answer.
Thompson cited the research presented in Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" about how many people someone can actually have as friends or colleagues. The number, says Gladwell, is 150; human beings can't really keep track of more than that. But on social media, that number jumps to the hundreds (and in some cases, particularly on Twitter, the thousands).
I have over 600 Facebook "friends." Do I know all of them well? Certainly not. But something interesting happens when it comes to learning about news. The more "friends" we have, the more likely it is we'll learn something about a topic we didn't expect to and likely wouldn't have searched for either.
And if enough of our friends share or re-tweet on a particular subject, we will come to think this is "important" (even if it's really about some ludicrous boy in a balloon). More seriously, the tweets emanating from Iran during the recent mini-revolution definitely opened many new eyes.
Admittedly, most of our friends are "like us" in terms of educational backgrounds and socio-economic standards. But some of those friends may have a wider circle that includes one or two more exotic colleagues. And I have not been terribly discriminating about who I "friend" – when I have a question that I need answering, I then have a wider circle to whom I can publish.
The issue of serendipity in social media has come up recently with one of my clients. The client has a particular organizational focus, and most of what we post relates to that topic. But sometimes we also publish links to articles off-topic which we feel will be interesting to our readers. It's a way of keeping the site timely and relevant. But it also has the effect of populating our fans' activity streams with news they might not have seen otherwise.
So, if part of the product management services you provide your clients includes preparing and executing on a social media "content plan," keep in mind the serendipity effect. It can help establish you more as a destination site within the social media universe…and it's good for the world too.
Tagged as: Amazon, Facebook, Google, Social Media
"Good Enough" Product Management
by Brian Blum on October 29, 2009
in Entrepreneurs,Product Management
Why has the Flip video camera (and now its key competitor the new iPod Nano) been such as a roaring success? An article in the September issue of Wired suggests it's part of a technology trend to build "good enough" products.
In terms of growth (if not total numbers), the little Flip is beating the pants off full-featured digital camcorders from Sony, Canon and the like (sales at Flip are up 200% this year even in the recession). The video on the Flip is indisputably crappy; the camera itself has none of the bells and whistles of its bigger cousins (there isn't even a proper optical zoom); even the view screen is tiny.
But, as Wired senior editor Robert Capps writes, the camera does the minimum of what consumers want: it fits in a pocket and it quickly uploads videos to YouTube. And at under $200, it's "good enough."
The Wired article presents a number of other examples, from "eLawyering" to reduced expectations from military hardware. The most familiar, though, is the de-evolution of music quality.
Even today, old-fashioned records are still considered to deliver the highest-fidelity sound. Of course, by the end of the 80s, these were nearly entirely replaced by CDs, which purists derided for years.
But the real change is the MP3 which is clearly inferior in sound quality. But, again, it's "good enough." Music lovers can store thousands of songs on a mobile device and easily share or download the small files.
Even more: in an informal poll conducted over the last six years by a Stanford University professor, young people are increasingly stating that MP3s sound "better" than CDs, because they've become accustomed to the distortion found in compressed audio. If that isn't "good enough," I don't know what is.
So what does this have to do with product management, the theme of this blog? The same trend in end user products has crept into the product planning and strategy phase. It used to be that you needed significant capital to properly launch a startup (we raised just under $1 million in the first round for Neta4 in 1998 – and that was considered on the low side).
It's much easier today for a couple of talented engineers to cobble together a working beta (and isn't everything beta for years nowadays?) quickly and with little or no investment. When you're coding in hurry, there's no time for product management. You post it and then crowd source changes in near real time.
The problem is that this approach has led to a delge of half-baked sites and services that nevertheless get covered on TechCrunch and other review sites only to eventually enter the inglorious "dead pool."
There are two schools of thought here: virtually ship it "good enough" and iterate, or get it right before launching, the thought being the old adage that you only have one chance to make a first impression.
It may seem that I'm arguing for the latter approach, but truthfully, they both can work (and they both can fail). For agile companies in a hurry, I'd recommend that as soon as they do receive funding (and after all, other than a few viral Facebook, Twitter and iPhone apps, it's pretty hard to make it to the big time without investor backing), they back up and start the product management tasks they didn't have time for the first time out – planning, strategy, specifications, prioritization, roadmap, business intelligence, competitive analysis and more – with an aim towards hiring a full time product manager as soon as possible.
There are some great companies out there that have taken unorthodox ways on the path towards success. "Good enough" technology is here to stay. That doesn't mean that product management necessarily has to follow suit.
Tagged as: Entrepreneurs, Monetization, Product Management, Products


text:
Q: Existence of a class of function
Consider a function $\gamma: [0, \infty) \to (0, \infty)$ satisfying these following conditions:
i) $\gamma$ decreases on $[0, \infty)$ and $\displaystyle \lim_{t\to \infty} \gamma(t) = 0$;
ii) $\gamma\not \in L^1$;
iii) $t\dot \gamma \in L^1$.

By part integration, we get $$\int_0^T t\dot \gamma(t) dt = T\gamma(T) - \int_0^T \gamma(t)dt.$$
Since $t\dot \gamma \in L^1$ and $\gamma \not \in L^1$, we conclude $\displaystyle \lim_{t\to \infty} t\gamma(t) = \infty$.
I could not find any $\gamma$, so I wondered if such a function exists.
Thank you very much for any hint or solution.

A: Such functions do not exist.
If $t \mapsto t\dot{\gamma}(t)$ belongs to $L^1$, then $\dot{\gamma}$ is locally integrable. Since $\lvert\dot{\gamma}(t)\rvert \leqslant \lvert t\dot{\gamma}(t)\rvert$ for $t \geqslant 1$, $\dot{\gamma}$ is integrable over $[1,+\infty)$, and since $\dot{\gamma}(t) \leqslant 0$ and $\gamma(0)$ is finite, $\dot{\gamma}$ is also integrable over $[0,1]$, so it follows that $\dot{\gamma} \in L^1([0,+\infty))$. Now we have
$$\gamma(x) = -\int_x^{+\infty} \dot{\gamma}(t)\,dt = \int_x^{+\infty} \lvert \dot{\gamma}(t)\rvert\,dt,$$
and hence
\begin{align}
\int_0^{+\infty} \gamma(x)\,dx &= \int_0^{+\infty} \int_x^{+\infty} \lvert\dot{\gamma}(t)\rvert\,dt\,dx \\
&= \int_0^{+\infty} \int_0^t\,dx\, \lvert\dot{\gamma}(t)\rvert\,dt \\
&= \int_0^{+\infty} t\lvert\dot{\gamma}(t)\rvert\,dt \\
&< +\infty
\end{align}
by Tonelli's theorem.
Thus $i)$ and $iii)$ imply $\gamma \in L^1([0,+\infty))$.

A: As a complement to Daniel Fischer's answer, note that if you restrict your domain to $(0,\infty)$ (or increase your codomain to $(0,\infty]$) then such functions do exist, one example being
$$\gamma(t)=\begin{cases}
t^{-1/2}&\text{if }0<t<1,\\
t^{-2}&\text{if }t\ge1.
\end{cases}$$
You can easily construct a smooth version if you prefer, since all that matters is what happens at $0$ and $+\infty$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Borscht Nights
Miami, FL proyecto creado por Lucas Leyva
For almost a decade, the Borscht Film Festival has increased the vibrancy of Miami by facilitating local artists to tell Miami stories
through film, and providing a platform to share these films with the community at large. We screen and commission films that portray a
wide diversity of stories about the city, empowering local citizens to define Miami's cinematic identity for themselves.
Up until this point the Borscht Film Festival has been held in large spaces in urban centers to accommodate the size of the audiences, but in our research we found many people travel from disparate communities to attend the festival.
We are seeking funding to bring the films directly to some of the diverse communities that inspired them, creating a greater sense of civic pride and community engagement. The lack of reliable public transportation in Miami makes it difficult to have as diverse an audience as we would like, and we feel creating a monthly series of free popup film screenings in underused spaces located in underserved communities would be received very positively.
Of all the art forms, cinema is one of the most accessible, and each screening would be curated to maximize the accessibility in these
neighborhoods that receive less than their share of arts programming. For instance, we would play films that were made in or about the neighborhoods we are screening them in, as well as films that deal with themes that are predominant in that specific community. Local musicians or artists that complement the films could perform before them to give the screening a sense of being an event. We could also bring in filmmakers originally from
the neighborhoods for an open Q and A.
These events are projected to take place every month for the duration of the year and beyond, and will lead up to the Borscht Film Festival.
Fondos becados por Miami, FL (April 2014)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It didn't work for me, I have done everything from the instructions. Also I did re-embed the iframe code. But on IOS it is still a mess.
If I may ask whats the iphone version you're using to test the form, If possible could you provide a link to the form/website in question so I can try to test from my end.
Me too. I'm using iFrame Code.
I have one form where the formatted phone number field does not display properly(truncated window) on an iPhone (latest updates for IOS) but it does display properly on an iPad(latest IOS) and my MacBook Pro.
We have moved your question to a separate thread and shall be addressed there shortly.


text:
Amaroqe
Corporation Caldari Provisions
Skill Points 220,160
Hull Upgrades / Rank 2 / Level: 1 / SP: 2,534 of 512,000
Mechanics / Rank 1 / Level: 2 / SP: 1,415 of 256,000
Repair Systems / Rank 1 / Level: 1 / SP: 250 of 256,000
3 Armor skills trained for a total of 4,199 skillpoints
1 Electronic Systems skills trained for a total of 750 skillpoints
CPU Management / Rank 1 / Level: 3 / SP: 8,000 of 256,000
2 Engineering skills trained for a total of 26,549 skillpoints
Gunnery / Rank 1 / Level: 3 / SP: 8,000 of 256,000
2 Gunnery skills trained for a total of 16,000 skillpoints
1 Navigation skills trained for a total of 8,000 skillpoints
Industry / Rank 1 / Level: 3 / SP: 8,000 of 256,000
1 Production skills trained for a total of 8,000 skillpoints
Mining / Rank 1 / Level: 4 / SP: 45,255 of 256,000
Reprocessing / Rank 1 / Level: 3 / SP: 8,000 of 256,000
Science / Rank 1 / Level: 3 / SP: 8,000 of 256,000
1 Science skills trained for a total of 8,000 skillpoints
3 Shields skills trained for a total of 28,243 skillpoints
Caldari Destroyer / Rank 2 / Level: 1 / SP: 500 of 512,000
Caldari Provisions 2011-02-03 12:29 -- Now (3107 days)
Phantom octopus 2010-12-23 05:19 -- 2011-02-03 12:28 (42 days)
Science and Trade Institute 2010-12-23 04:16 -- 2010-12-23 05:18 (0 days)
Caldari Frigate V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Power Grid Management V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
Mechanics V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
Minmatar Frigate V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Amarr Frigate V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Gallente Frigate V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Caldari Battlecruiser I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Caldari Cruiser III (0d 21h 9m 50s)
Minmatar Battlecruiser I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Minmatar Cruiser III (0d 21h 9m 50s)
Minmatar Frigate III (0d 8h 27m 56s)
Amarr Battlecruiser I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Amarr Cruiser III (0d 21h 9m 50s)
Gallente Battlecruiser I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Gallente Cruiser III (0d 21h 9m 50s)
Gallente Frigate III (0d 8h 27m 56s)
Spaceship Command IV (0d 23h 56m 40s)
Caldari Battlecruiser III (1d 1h 23m 49s)
Caldari Battleship II (0d 5h 59m 10s)
Gallente Battlecruiser III (1d 1h 23m 49s)
Minmatar Battlecruiser III (1d 1h 23m 49s)
Minmatar Battleship II (0d 5h 59m 10s)
Amarr Battlecruiser III (1d 1h 23m 49s)
Amarr Battleship II (0d 5h 59m 10s)
Gallente Battleship II (0d 5h 59m 10s)
Precursor Cruiser III (0d 21h 9m 50s)
Jump Drive Calibration IV (9d 14h 6m 34s)
CPU Management IV (1d 1h 34m 4s)
Jump Drive Operation V (30d 3h 9m 50s)
Navigation V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
Warp Drive Operation V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
Science V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
Transport Ships I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Capital Industrial Ships I (0d 1h 35m 14s)
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Leadership I (0d 0h 9m 5s)
Mining Foreman V (12d 22h 18m 11s)
Caldari Carrier I (0d 1h 51m 7s)
Caldari Battleship III (1d 9h 51m 45s)
Drone Interfacing V (28d 5h 14m 55s)
Jump Fuel Conservation IV (8d 12h 32m 30s)
Jump Drive Calibration III (1d 16h 40m 41s)
Drones V (5d 15h 26m 59s)
Minmatar Carrier I (0d 1h 51m 7s)
Minmatar Battleship III (1d 9h 51m 45s)
Amarr Carrier I (0d 1h 51m 7s)
Amarr Battleship III (1d 9h 51m 45s)
Gallente Carrier I (0d 1h 51m 7s)
Gallente Battleship III (1d 9h 51m 45s)
Caldari Cruiser V (28d 5h 14m 55s)
Recon Ships I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Signature Analysis V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
Electronics Upgrades V (12d 1h 15m 56s)
Minmatar Cruiser V (28d 5h 14m 55s)
Amarr Cruiser V (28d 5h 14m 55s)
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Caldari Destroyer V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Command Destroyers I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Command Burst Specialist IV (6d 20h 33m 47s)
Leadership V (6d 11h 9m 5s)
Minmatar Destroyer V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Amarr Destroyer V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Gallente Destroyer V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
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Wing Command IV (9d 3h 25m 2s)
Minmatar Battlecruiser V (33d 20h 41m 54s)
Amarr Battlecruiser V (33d 20h 41m 54s)
Gallente Battlecruiser V (33d 20h 41m 54s)
Gallente Frigate I (0d 0h 15m 52s)
Minmatar Frigate I (0d 0h 15m 52s)
Caldari Dreadnought I (0d 1h 35m 14s)
Advanced Weapon Upgrades V (33d 20h 41m 54s)
Weapon Upgrades V (11d 6h 53m 58s)
Gallente Dreadnought I (0d 1h 35m 14s)
Minmatar Dreadnought I (0d 1h 35m 14s)
Amarr Dreadnought I (0d 1h 35m 14s)
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Fleet Command I (0d 1h 49m 5s)
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Target Management V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
ORE Freighter I (0d 1h 11m 26s)
Minmatar Frigate II (0d 1h 29m 47s)
Gallente Frigate II (0d 1h 29m 47s)
Heavy Assault Cruisers I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Energy Grid Upgrades V (12d 1h 15m 56s)
Heavy Interdiction Cruisers I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
Propulsion Jamming V (18d 1h 53m 54s)
Mechanics III (0d 4h 31m 11s)
Evasive Maneuvering V (12d 1h 15m 56s)
Caldari Freighter IV (9d 23h 26m 37s)
Jump Freighters I (0d 1h 51m 7s)
Jump Drive Calibration I (0d 1h 16m 16s)
Minmatar Freighter IV (9d 23h 26m 37s)
Amarr Freighter IV (9d 23h 26m 37s)
Gallente Freighter IV (9d 23h 26m 37s)
Logistics Cruisers I (0d 0h 47m 37s)
75d 23h 3m 7s
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Astrogeology III (0d 13h 33m 34s)
Shield Operation V (6d 0h 37m 58s)
Drones III (0d 4h 13m 58s)
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Minmatar Tactical Destroyer I (0d 0h 23m 49s)
Amarr Tactical Destroyer I (0d 0h 23m 49s)
Gallente Tactical Destroyer I (0d 0h 23m 49s)
Capital Ships V (79d 0h 17m 47s)
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Astrometrics V (18d 1h 53m 54s)
Gallente Titan I (0d 2h 6m 59s)
Minmatar Titan I (0d 2h 6m 59s)
Amarr Titan I (0d 2h 6m 59s)


text:
Prep Athlete of the Week: 'Memo' for Herlong…
Prep Athlete of the Week: 'Memo' for Herlong full of big numbers
By Leland Gordon |
PUBLISHED: October 18, 2007 at 12:00 am | UPDATED: April 21, 2018 at 4:24 am
Here are some big numbers, courtesy of Princeton High running back Guillermo Rodriguez from Saturday's 82-40 demolition of Herlong: 21 rushes, 319 yards and seven touchdowns. Don't forget to add in an interception return for a TD and a 2-point conversion in the California 8-Man League game, one in which he was responsible for 50 points.
Those are some huge jump-off-the-page numbers, so if you're wondering why you haven't heard of the guy they call "Memo," it's probably because of some smaller numbers: 8-man football, Division VI and 407, the population of the Colusa County town.
He's a big Eagle in a small nest for coach Bryan Lex, and he wants people to know that small-school athletes deserve some recognition too.
"Coming from a small town, you don't get realized as much as you should," he said before practice Wednesday. "There are a lot of great athletes who come from small schools."
Keep his name in the back of your mind and on the tip of your tongue, because the junior doesn't just post big numbers on the green pasture at Princeton High. He's a three-sport athlete who plays basketball and baseball as well and he was selected to the All-League team twice already as a footballer and once as a baseball player. And he's got another big number, which he said is more important than any rushing total: a 3.7 grade point average and a spot on the honor roll.
"I actually treat (school) as more important than sports," Rodriguez said. "My grades have to come first."
Winning has been coming first and foremost this year for the Eagles, as they've sped out to a 7-0 overall record (3-0 in league) and really haven't been challenged on the scoreboard yet. The record is everything a coach can ask for, and Lex said Rodriguez is too.
"He's a leader on the team, he's an academic standout, our team captain, everything you could ask for in a player," Lex said. "He's a great kid."
He's good at sports and he's good in the classroom, but Rodriguez said one thing he isn't good at is playing his acoustic guitar at home. Other than that, Rodriguez has shown he was what it takes to make noise on a bigger scene, and Lex said his performance and work ethic will have lasting impressions at the tiny school.
"You have an example for kids who come after him," Lex said. "It sets the bar."
Chico, rural communities losing affordability in deepening statewide housing crisis
Leland Gordon


I've now been a mom for longer than I was pregnant, which is difficult to get my head around. What's super strange is that I struggle to imagine what it felt like a year ago. I used to ask mommies questions about being pregnant when I was expecting. Most of them told me that they couldn't remember, that it had been too long. Less than a year later, I feel the same way.
I thought that being pregnant meant you got these intense, odd food cravings, such as pickle infused ice cream, and got sick often (perhaps because your stomach wouldn't approve of the pickle & diary combination under the best of circumstances?). And, not surprisingly, the most common questions I received when I was expecting was what cravings I got and how I felt. In reality, there are multitudes of other nuances that come along with being pregnant that are not as widely discussed.
Admittedly, the insatiable food cravings was one of the aspects about being pregnant that I was most excited about – second to growing my child, naturally! I couldn't wait to feel so hungry for a bizarre meal that I just NEEDED to have right then and there that I would wake up my hubby at a godforsaken hour to go hunt for; however, that never happened, luckily for my spouse. What did happen is the breadth of food options I usually chose from quickly shrank. The doctor said I had to avoid alcohol and raw foods (such as sushi and rare burgers), which I had anticipated. Shockingly, I also had to limit other foods that could be harmful to the baby. I was told I couldn't eat any shark, which really altered my weekly grocery list.
Having lost my shark staple (along with other less noteworthy food items), I was saddened to find that there were foods I couldn't stand to eat. French fries gave me unforgiving heartburn. Shrimp, which I generally do enjoy, tasted rubbery and just ucky. I ate a lot of bagels, chicken salad and cereal because I knew they were safe. The ladies at the work cafeteria used to refer to my chicken salad and BBQ sauce wraps as my "craving," and that seemed to make them happy, so I went with it. They didn't need to hear me whining about my aversions, and thinking they were satisfying baby's craving often meant that they would hook me up with an amply filled wrap.
Some pregnant women suffer from horrible sickness throughout their entire pregnancy. Fortunately, I didn't throw up once. I'm not saying I felt breezy during the pregnancy – far from it! In my first trimester (and then some), I felt like I had the flu. I was exhausted by 4 PM – if not sooner – everyday, even though I worked a desk job and therefore didn't have to exert much energy. I often fought nausea in the morning. Eating lots of plain, starchy foods and laying or even just sitting down helped a lot. In the last trimester, my nose was constantly running and I couldn't figure out a way to turn off the booger faucet. I got used to blowing my nose every few minutes. Apparently, this condition is pretty common and is called Pregnancy Rhinitis, which luckily did not involve me turning into a rhinoceros for nine months, whew!
To compound the draining work your body is doing to grow a person, it can be difficult to sleep from as early as the first month of pregnancy. I had always been a stomach sleeper, and it became very uncomfortable to sleep belly down almost immediately. I had to teach myself how to sleep on my side, which did miraculously happen. That is, until the baby officially took over my body. No pillow or position seemed to be comfortable enough to last for more than a few hours. There were some nights where I'd fall asleep with my arm over my bump, and I'd wake up with a start after I'd feel a firm nudge from inside, letting me know that my stomach was NOT an armrest. Those moments were a fun reminder that there was a person in there, that I wasn't just getting a frivolous Santa belly.
Everywhere I went, my bump got some attention. As a female, when someone makes eye contact with you, then looks below your face, it can feel awkward, as they're probably checking out your brassiere area. The people you'd least expect to often check you out when you're with child, and that made me feel super violated at first. I soon realized that it was my bump they were checking out. That insight made me feel slightly better when I'd get the once over, but I felt terrible about all the pregnant ladies I have probably unintentionally creeped out.
A pregnant body goes through physical changes that you can notice through ways other than your trousers getting tighter. As the baby grew, it seemed as though my hips had a falling out and were running away from each other. Once the baby reached a certain size, I was unable to bend over at the waist, which happened overnight. One day I could grab my phone or whatever item happened to fall out of my pregnancy butterfingers; the next day, I had to think it through and squat down.
While I had daily reminders of my little one's amazing presence, the whole experience felt surreal. I didn't fully comprehend that there was my child developing inside of me, despite the kicks I could feel and see, the sonograms that showcased my baby's lovely features, and the other not-so-subtle changes that were happening. It took me hearing my baby's first cries, getting peed on, and holding my little monkey (which all occurred in the first minute!) to realize that I am a mother.


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Q: Minimum current of a sensitive gate SCR i have a few 2N5064 SCR that are puzzling me. No matter how many hundreds of thousands of ohms i put between their gates and a 3.2V battery source, it always starts to conduct. I even put a 10 V zener between them, and it still turns on. Looking at the datasheet, i am puzzled. Where minimum gate turn on current is, there is just a dash. Same for minimum voltage. What does this mean? Will they activate with pretty much any current?
Thanks

A: 2N5064 is a sensitive-gate SCR. It triggers with a maximum of 200uA at room temperature (Tj = 25°C).
No minimum is specified in the official data, as you can see.
Edit: In order to keep it "off" guaranteed, you should keep the gate voltage to less than 100mV, which is guaranteed to not trigger up to Tj = 125°C or so, depending on the manufacturer. In practice that may mean that you'll have to put a resistor from cathode to gate to decrease the sensitivity.
If you really want something sensitive, play with the gate on a MOSFET such as a 2N7000. pA are more than enough typically.

A: Since it's guaranteed to trigger from 200 uA, you'd have to limit the current to less than that to have a hope of it not triggering. From a 3.2 V source, we can compute from Ohm's law that R = 3.2 / .0002.
This tells us that if the resistor is 16K ohms (or less), it's guaranteed to trigger. It doesn't tell us just how much less might be needed to dependably prevent triggering though.
There will undoubtedly be some level of current below which it won't trigger. If you want to play around with getting at least some idea of the maximum current that won't trigger, don't play with how many hundreds of kilohms are needed. Work in something like powers of 10. If a hundred kilohms still triggers, try a few meghoms. If that still triggers, try tens of megohoms. If that still triggers, try hundreds of megohms. When you've established some bounds, then you could do something on the order of a binary search to narrow your lower bound.
Then, of course, pad your result by a fair amount anyway--even if (for example) 5 megohms is enough to prevent triggering with the specimen you have at hand, another one might trigger on half that much current...

A: Why would you even be wanting to place a resistor from the trigger gate to the +Vbatt??
Expecially one that wouldn't be guarenteed to turn the part on!!
If you were intending to use some type of NPN output coupler to drive the gate it would be responsible to hold the trigger off by clamping the gate near the -Vbatt. Then when the NPN went off you would need a pullup that was guaranteed to turn the part on.


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B096G5QGWR
Magda Alexander
Murder on the Golden Arrow
Magda Alexander, author
What's a bright young woman to do when her brother becomes the main suspect in a murder? Why, solve the case of course.
England. 1923. After a year away at finishing school where she learned etiquette, deportment, and the difference between a salad fork and a fish one, Kitty Worthington is eager to return home. But minutes after she and her brother Ned board the Golden Arrow, the unthinkable happens. A woman with a mysterious connection to her brother is poisoned, and the murderer can only be someone aboard the train.
When Scotland Yard hones in on Ned as the main suspect, Kitty sets out to investigate. Not an easy thing to do while juggling the demands of her debut season and a mother intent on finding a suitable, aristocratic husband for her.
With the aid of her maid, two noble beaus, and a flatulent Basset Hound named Sir Winston, Kitty treads a fearless path through the glamorous world of high society and London's dark underbelly alike to find the murderer. For if she fails, the insufferable Inspector Crawford will most surely hang a noose around her brother's neck.
A frolicking historical cozy mystery filled with dodgy suspects, a dastardly villain, and an intrepid heroine sure to win your heart, Murder on the Golden Arrow is the first book in The Kitty Worthington Mysteries. For lovers of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey alike.


Chu Wan, seated front row center, with some of his students, at a birthday celebration held 27 Feb 1968. His youngest son sits on the floor in front of him, his wife is beside him, while his eldest son sits far left front row. Chow Hung-Yuen is in the front row fifth from the left, Fred Kwok stands second row fifth from the left (directly behind Chow). Can you help identify any others?
Chu Wan sits with his two sons by his side and his student, Chow Hung-Yuen, behind him. Taken about 1960.
Yip Man & Bruce Lee do Chi Sao.
Entrance to the Main Hall of the Buddhist temple where many Chinese martial arts, including Wing Chun, traditionally began. This image, and many more, can be found at Scenery Pictures of China.
by Dan Lucas (1.8 KB gif), lost some resolution to keep the file size small.


Recognized Homeopathic Institutions India (Old List), Bihar @ Homoeopathy Clinic website pioneer in alternative medicine & health care!
* Refer Govt. of India Gazette Notification No.V.27021/5/87/Homoeo. (HPC) dated 30th Nov., 1998 published on 2nd Dec., 1998.


New dates and locations for the Department for Transport's consultation events have been announced and CTA has been asked to share them with its members.
Department for Transport officials are keen to meet with CTA members at a series of events across England, Scotland and Wales as part of the Department's consultation on the issue and use of section 19 and 22 permits under the Transport Act 1985. The purpose of these events will be to explain the consultation policy proposals and answer questions, though officials will not be able to provide legal advice. The events will consist of a presentation and a question and answer session spread over a two-hour session.
Exeter, 5th April: See details here.
Morning session: see details here.
Afternoon session: see details here.


Coventry Speedway will hold their 2016 practice day tomorrow (Friday). On track practice is due to start at around 4.30pm at which time the stadium will be open to the general public.
Bees have added Adam Roynon to their squad as cover for the two 'draft' reserves, James Sargeant and Josh Bates. The first team action of the season comes on Wednesday (16th) when Bees visit Poole in the first leg of the Elite Shield. The second leg is at Brandon two nights later.
Danny King has now been added to the BEN Fund meeting at King's Lynn on Saturday (March 12) and joins Chris Harris, Krzysztof Kasprzak and Josh Bates in what promises to be, weather permitting, a good opener to the season.
Coach bookings for travel to this meeting can be made on practice day.


Lawrence J. Green 85 of Orange, Texas died on Monday Jan. 10, 2011 at Harbor Hospice in Beaumont, Texas.
Home going celebration will be at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at St. Paul C.M.E. Church located at 1201 N. Fourth street in Orange, with Pastor Lionel G. Hayes officiating. Visitation will be held at the church from 11:00 a.m. until time of service. Interment will follow at Hollywood Cemetery in Orange under the direction of Colonial Memorial Chapel.
Mr. Green was born June 15, 1925 in Beaumont, Texas. He came to Orange at a young age where he resided most of his life. He served his country in the United States Navy. Before retiring, Mr. Green had worked several years for Du Pont EI & Company and also the Orange Senior Citizen Transit in Orange, Tx. He was a faithful member of St. Paul C.M.E. Church where he has served as Stewart and also in the male chorus for many years. Mr. Green has played a vital role serving as a board member of Hollywood Cemetery in Orange.
He leaves to cherish his precious memories his lovely wife, Ethel Green of Orange, Tx. One daughter, Albertha Daily (Rodney) of Orange, Tx. One sister, Nellie Caraway of Houston, Tx. He also leaves behind three grandchildren and nine great grandchildren and a host of family and friends.


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Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Laboratory
GEMM Lab blog
Clicks, buzzes, and rasps: How the MMPA has spurred what we know about beaked whale acoustic repertoire
Keeping it simple: A lesson in model construction
A glimpse into the world of marine biological research
GEMM Lab 2022: A Year in the Life
How fat do baleen whales get? Recent publication shows how humpback whales increase their body condition over the foraging season.
Bottlenose Dolphin Population Health
Gray Whale Foraging Ecology and Vessel Disturbance
Gray Whale Individual Behavior and Body Condition
Impacts of ocean noise on gray whales
Kittiwakes of St. George
New Zealand blue whales
North Pacific albatross and fisheries overlap
Oregon whale distribution
Sea Otter Reintroduction to Oregon
Alexa Kownacki
Amanda Holdman
Cetaceans
Clara Bird
Dawn Barlow
Florence Sullivan
foraging ecology
gray whale
Gray Whales
Humpback whales
Leigh Torres
Leila Lemos
Lisa Hildebrand
Science Kayak
Tag: mortality
Applying novel methods in conservation physiology to understand cases of large whale mortalities
By Alejandro Fernánez Ajó, PhD student at NAU and GEMM Lab research technician
Although commercial whaling is currently banned and several whale populations show evidence of recovery, today´s whales are exposed to a variety of other human stressors (e.g., entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes, shipping noise, climate change, etc.; reviewed in Hunt et al., 2017a). The recovery and conservation of large whale populations is particularly important to the oceanic environment due to their key ecological role and unique biological traits, including their large body size, long lifespan and sizable home ranges (Magera et al., 2013; Atkinson et al., 2015; Thomas and Reeves, 2015). Thus, scientists must develop novel tools to overcome the challenges of studying whale physiology in order to distinguish the relative importance of the different impacts and guide conservation actions accordingly (Ayres et al., 2012; Hunt et al., 2013).
To this end, baleen hormone analysis represents a powerful tool for retrospective assessment of patterns in whale physiology (Hunt et al., 2014, 2016, 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Lysiak et. al., 2018; Fernández Ajó et al., 2018; Rolland et al., 2019). Moreover, hormonal panels, which include multiple hormones, are helping to better clarify and distinguish between the physiological effects of different sources of anthropogenic and environmental stressors (Ayres et al., 2012; Wasser et al., 2017; Lysiak et al., 2018; Romero et al., 2015).
What is Baleen? Baleen is a stratified epithelial tissue consisting of long, fringed plates that grow downward from the upper jaw, which collectively form the whale´s filter-feeding apparatus (Figure 1). This tissue accumulates hormones as it grows. Hormones are deposited in a linear fashion with time so that a single plate of baleen allows retrospective assessment and evaluation of a whales' physiological condition, and in calves baleen provides a record of the entire lifespan including part of their gestation. Baleen samples are also readily accessible and routinely collected during necropsy along with other samples and relevant information.
Figure 1: Top: A baleen plate from a southern right whale calf (Source: Fernández Ajó et al. 2018). Bottom: A southern right whale with mouth open exposing its baleen (photo credit: Stephen Johnson).
Why are the Southern Right Whales calves (SRW) dying in Patagonia?
I am a Fulbright Ph.D. student in the Buck Laboratory at Northern Arizona University since Fall 2017, a researcher with the Whale Conservation Institute of Argentina (Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas) and Field Technician for the GEMM Lab over the summer. I focus my research on the application and development of novel methods in conservation physiology to improve our understanding of how physiological parameters are affected by human pressures that impact large whales and marine mammals. I am especially interested in understanding the underlaying causes of large whale mortalities with the aim of preventing their occurrence when possible. In particular, for my Ph.D. dissertation, I am studying a die-off case of Southern Right Whale (SRW) calves, Eubalaena australis, off Peninsula Valdés (PV) in Patagonia-Argentina (Figure 2).
Prior to 2000, annual calf mortality at PV was considered normal and tracked the population growth rate (Rowntree et al., 2013). However, between 2007 and 2013, 558 whales died, including 513 newborn calves (Sironi et al., 2018). Average total whale deaths per year increased tenfold, from 8.2 in 1993-2002 to 80 in 2007-2013. These mortality levels have never before been observed for the species or any other population of whales (Thomas et al., 2013, Sironi et al., 2018).
Figure 2: Study area, the red dots along the shoreline indicate the location where the whales were found stranded at Península Valdés in 2018 (Source: The Right Whale Program Research Report 2018, Sironi and Rowntree, 2018)
Among several hypotheses proposed to explain these elevated calf mortalities, harassment by Kelp Gulls, Larus dominicanus, on young calves stands out as a plausible cause and is a unique problem only seen at the PV calving ground. Kelp gull parasitism on SRWs near PV was first observed in the 1970's (Thomas, 1988). Gulls primarily harass mother-calf pairs, and this parasitic behavior includes pecking on the backs of the whales and creating open wounds to feed on their skin and blubber. The current intensity of gull harassment has been identified as a significant environmental stressor to whales and potential contributor to calf deaths (Marón et al., 2015b; Fernández Ajó et al., 2018).
Figure 3: The significant preference for calves as a target of gull attacks highlights the impact of this parasitic behavior on this age class. The situation continues to be worrisome and serious for the health and well-being of newborn calves at Península Valdés. Left: A Kelp Gull landing on whale´s back to feed on her skin and blubber (Photo credit: Lisandro Crespo). Right: A calf with multiple lesions on its back produced by repeated gull attacks (Photo credit: ICB).
Quantifying gull inflicted wounds
Photographs of gull wounds on whales taken during necropsies and were quantified and assigned to one of seven objectively defined size categories (Fig. 4): extra-small (XS), small (S), medium (M), large (L), extra-large (XL), double XL (XXL) and triple XL (XXXL). The size and number of lesions on each whale were compared to baleen hormones to determine the effect of the of the attacks on the whales health.
Figure 4. Kelp gull lesion scoring. Source: Maron et al. 2015).
How baleen hormones are applied
Impact factors such as injuries, predation avoidance, storms, and starvation promote an increase in the secretion of the glucocorticoids (GCs) cortisol and corticosterone (stress hormones), which then induce a variety of physiological and behavioral responses that help animals cope with the stressor. Prolonged exposure to chronic stress, however, may exceed the animal's ability to cope with such stimuli and, therefore, adversely affects its body condition, its health, and even its survival. Triiodothyronine (T3), is the most biologically active form of the thyroid hormones and helps regulate metabolism. Sustained food deprivation causes a decrease in T3 concentrations, slowing metabolism to conserve energy stores. Combining GCs and T3 hormone measures allowed us to investigate and distinguish the relative impacts of nutritional and other sources of stressors.
Combining these novel methods produced unique results about whale physiology. With my research, we are finding that the GCs concentrations measured in calves´ baleen positively correlate with the intensity of gull wounding (Figure 4, 1 and 2), while calf's baleen thyroid hormone concentrations are relative stable across time and do not correlate with intensity of gull wounding (Figure 4 – 3). Taken together these findings indicate that SRW calves exposed to Kelp gull parasitism and harassment experience high levels of physiological stress that compromise their health and survival. Ultimately these results will inform government officials and managers to direct conservation actions aimed to reduce the negative interaction between Kelp gulls and Southern Right Whales in Patagonia.
Figure 4: Physiological stress correlates with number of gull lesions (1 and 2). According to the best-fit linear model, immunoreactive baleen corticosterone (B) and cortisol (F) concentrations increased with wound severity (i.e. number of gull lesions). However, nutritional status indexed by baleen immunoreactive triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations does not correlate with the number of gull lesions (3). (Fernández Ajó et al. 2019, manuscript under revision)
Baleen hormones as a conservation tool
Baleen hormones represent a powerful tool for retrospective assessments of longitudinal trends in whale physiology by helping discriminate the underlying mechanisms by which different stressors may affect a whale's health and physiology. Moreover, while most sample types used for studying whale physiology provide single time-point measures of current circulating hormone levels (e.g., skin or respiratory vapor), or information from previous few hours or days (e.g., urine and feces), baleen tissue provides a unique opportunity for longitudinal analyses of hormone patterns. These retrospective analyses can be conducted for both stranded or archived specimens, and can be conducted jointly with other biological markers (e.g., stable isotopes and biotoxins) to describe migration patterns and exposure to pollutants. Further research efforts on baleen hormones should focus on completing biological validations to better understand the hormone measurements in baleen and its correlation with measurements from alternative sample matrices (i.e., feces, skin, blubber, and respiratory vapors).
Atkinson, S., Crocker, D., Houser, D., Mashburn, K., 2015. Stress physiology in marine mammals: how well do they fit the terrestrial model? J. Comp. Physiol. B. 185, 463–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-015-0901-0.
Ayres, K.L., Booth, R.K., Hempelmann, J.A., Koski, K.L., Emmons, C.K., Baird, R.W., Balcomb-Bartok, K., Hanson, M.B., Ford, M.J., Wasser, S.K., 2012. Distinguishing the impacts of inadequate prey and vessel traffic on an endangered killer whale (Orcinus orca) population. PLoS ONE. 7, e36842. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036842.
Fernández Ajó, A.A., Hunt, K., Uhart, M., Rowntree, V., Sironi, M., Marón, C.F., Di Martino, M., Buck, L., 2018. Lifetime glucocorticoid profiles in baleen of right whale calves: potential relationships to chronic stress of repeated wounding by Kelp Gull. Conserv. Physiol. 6, coy045. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coy045.
Hunt, K., Lysiak, N., Moore, M., Rolland, R.M., 2017a. Multi-year longitudinal profiles of cortisol and corticosterone recovered from baleen of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 254: 50–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.09.009.
Hunt, K.E., Hunt, K.E., Lysiak, N.S., Matthews, C.J.D., Lowe, C., Fernández-Ajo, A., Dillon, D., Willing, C., Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., Ferguson, S.H., Moore, M.J., Buck, C.L., 2018. Multi-year patterns in testosterone, cortisol and corticosterone in baleen from adult males of three whale species. Conserv. Physiol. 6, coy049. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coy049.
Hunt, K.E., Hunt, K.E., Lysiak, N.S., Moore, M.J., Rolland R.M., 2016. Longitudinal progesterone profiles in baleen from female North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) match known calving history. Conserv. Physiol. 4, cow014. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cow014.
Hunt, K.E., Lysiak, N.S., Moore, M.J., Seton, R.E., Torres, L., Buck, C.L., 2017b. Multiple steroid and thyroid hormones detected in baleen from eight whale species. Conserv. Physiol. 5, cox061. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cox061.
Hunt, K.E., Moore, M.J., Rolland, R.M., Kellar, N.M., Hall, A.J., Kershaw, J., Raverty, S.A., Davis, C.E., Yeates, L.C., Fauquier, D.A., Rowles, T.K., Kraus, S.D., 2013. Overcoming the challenges of studying conservation physiology in large whales: a review of available methods. Conserv. Physiol. 1: cot006. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot006.
Hunt, K.E., Stimmelmayr, R., George, C., Hanns, C., Suydam, R., Brower, H., Rolland, R.M., 2014. Baleen hormones: a novel tool for retrospective assessment of stress and reproduction in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). Conserv. Physiol. 2, cou030. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cou030.
Lysiak, N., Trumble, S., Knowlton, A., Moore, M., 2018. Characterizing the duration and severity of fishing gear entanglement on a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) using stable isotopes, steroid and thyroid hormones in baleen. Front. Mar. Sci. 5: 168. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00168.
Magera, A.M., Flemming, J.E.M., Kaschner, K., Christensen, L.B., Lotze, H.K., 2013. Recovery trends in marine mammal populations. PLoS ONE. 8, e77908. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077908.
Marón, C.F., Beltramino, L., Di Martino, M., Chirife, A., Seger, J., Uhart, M., Sironi, M., Rowntree, V.J., 2015b Increased wounding of southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) calves by Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus) at Península Valdés, Argentina., PLoS ONE. 10, p. e0139291. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139291.
Marón, C.F., Rowntree, V.J., Sironi, M., Uhart, M., Payne, R.S., Adler, F.R., Seger, J., 2015a. Estimating population consequences of increased calf mortality in the southern right whales off Argentina. SC/66a/BRG/1 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, San Diego, USA. Available at: https://iwc.int/home
Rolland, R.M., Graham, K.M., Stimmelmayr, R., Suydam, R. S., George, J.C., 2019. Chronic stress from fishing gear entanglement is recorded in baleen from a bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Mar. Mam. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12596.
Romero, L.M., Platts, S.H., Schoech, S.J., Wada, H., Crespi, E., Martin, L.B., Buck, C.L., 2015. Understanding Stress in the Healthy Animal – Potential Paths for Progress. Stress. 18(5), 491-497.
Rowntree, V.J., Uhart, M.M., Sironi, M., Chirife, A., Di Martino, M., La Sala, L., Musmeci, L., Mohamed, N., Andrejuk, J., McAloose, D., Sala, J., Carribero, A., Rally, H., Franco, M., Adler, F., Brownell, R. Jr, Seger, J., Rowles, T., 2013. Unexplained recurring high mortality of southern right whale Eubalaena australis calves at Península Valdés, Argentina. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 493:275–289. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10506.
Sironi, M. Rowntree, V., Di Martino, M., Alzugaray, L.,Rago, V., Marón, C.F., Uhart M., 2018. Southern right whale mortalities at Península Valdes, Argentina: updated information for 2016-2017. SC/67B/CMP/06 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, Slovenia. Available at: https://iwc.int/home.
Sironi, M. Rowntree, V., Snowdon, C., Valenzuela, L., Marón C., 2009. Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus) feeding on southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) at Península Valdes, Argentina: updated estimates and conservation implications. SC/61/BRG19. presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, Portugal. Available at: https://iwc.int/home.
Thomas, P., Reeves, R., 2015. Status of the world's baleen whales. Mar. Mam. Sci. 32:682–734. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12281.
Thomas, P., Uhart, M., McAloose, D., Sironi, M., Rowntree, V.J., Brownell, Jr. R., Gulland, F.M.D., Moore, M., Marón, C., Wilson, C., 2013. Workshop on the southern right whale die-off at Península Valdés, Argentina. SC/60/BRG15 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, South Korea. Available at: https://iwc.int/home
Thomas, P.O. 1988. Kelp Gulls, Larus dominicanus, are parasites on flesh of the right whale, Eubalaena australis. Ethology. 79:89-103. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1988.tb00703.x.
Wasser, S.K., Lundin, J.I., Ayres, K., Seely, E., Giles, D., Balcomb, K., Hempelmann, J., Parsons, K., Booth, R., 2017. Population growth is limited by nutritional impacts on pregnancy success in endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca). PLoS ONE. 12, e0179824. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179824.
Posted on July 23, 2019 July 23, 2019 Author torresleCategories Visiting ResearcherTags Argentina, baleen, calves, conservation, hormones, kelp gulls, mortality, parasitism, Patagonia, physiology, southern right whale, whaleLeave a comment on Applying novel methods in conservation physiology to understand cases of large whale mortalities
Current gray whale die-off: a concern or simply the circle of life?
By Leila Lemos, PhD Candidate in Wildlife Sciences, Fisheries and Wildlife Department / OSU
Examination of a dead gray whale found in Pacifica, California, in May 2019.
Source: CNN 2019.
The avalanche of news on gray whale deaths this year is everywhere. And because my PhD thesis focuses on gray whale health, I've been asked multiple times now why this is happening. So, I thought it was a current and important theme to explore in our blog. The first question that comes to (my) mind is: is this a sad and unusual event for the gray whales that raises concern, or is this die-off event expected and simply part of the circle of life?
At least 64 gray whales have washed-up on the West Coast of the US this year, including the states of California, Oregon and Washington. According to John Calambokidis, biologist and founder of the Cascadia Research Collective, the washed-up whales had one thing in common: all were in poor body condition, potentially due to starvation (Calambokidis in: Paris 2019). Other than looking skinny, some of the whale carcasses also presented injuries, apparently caused by ship strikes (CNN 2019).
Cascadia Research Collective examining a dead gray whale in 9 May 2019, washed up in Washington state. Cause of death was not immediately apparent but appeared consistent with nutritional stress.
Source: Cascadia Research Collective 2019.
To give some context, gray whales migrate long distances while they fast for long periods. They are known for performing the longest migration ever seen for a mammal, as they travel up to 20,000 km roundtrip every year from their breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico, to their feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas (Calambokidis et al. 2002, Jones and Swartz 2002, Sumich 2014). Thus, a successful feeding season is critical for energy replenishment to recover from the previous migration and fasting periods, and for energy storage to support their metabolic needsduring the migration and fasting periods that follow. An unsuccessful feeding season could likely result in poor body condition, affecting individual performance in the following seasons, a phenomenon known as the carry-over effect(Harrison et al., 2011).
In addition, environmental change, such as climate variations, might impact shifts in prey availability and thus intensify energetic demands on the whales as they need to search harder and longer for food. These whales already fast for months and spend large energy reserves supporting their migrations. When they arrive at their feeding grounds, they need to start feeding. If they don't have access to predictable food sources, their fitness is affected and they become more vulnerable to anthropogenic threats, including ship strikes, entanglement in fishery gear, and contamination.
For the past three years, I have been using drone-based photogrammetry to assess gray whale body condition along the Oregon coast, as part of my PhD project. Coincident to this current die-off event, I have observed that these whales presented good body condition in 2016, but in the past two years their condition has worsened. But these Oregon whales are feeding on different prey in different areas than the rest of the ENP that heads up to the Bering Sea to feed. So, are all gray whales suffering from the same broad scale environmental impacts? I am currently looking into environmental remote sensing data such as sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a and upwelling index to explore associations between body condition and environmental anomalies that could be associated.
Trying to answer the question I previously mentioned "is this event worrisome or natural?", I would estimate that this die-off is mostly due to natural patterns, mainly as a consequence of ecological patterns. This Eastern North Pacific (ENP) gray whale population is now estimated at 27,000 individuals (Calambokidis in: Paris 2019) and it has been suggested that this population is currently at its carrying capacity(K), which is estimated to be between 19,830 and 28,470 individuals (Wade and Perryman, 2002). Prey availability on their primary foraging grounds in the Bering Sea may simply not be enough to sustain this whole population.
The plot below illustrates a population in exponential growth over the years. The population reaches a point (K) that the system can no longer support. Therefore, the population declines and then fluctuates around this K point. This pattern and cycle can result in die-off events like the one we are currently witnessing with the ENP gray whale population.
Population at a carrying capacity (K)
Source: Conservation of change 2019.
According to the American biologist Paul Ehrlich: "the idea that we can just keep growing forever on a finite planet is totally imbecilic". Resources are finite, and so are populations. We should expect die-off events like this.
Right now, we are early on the 2019 feeding season for these giant migrators. Mortality numbers are likely to increase and might even exceed previous die-off events. The last ENP gray whale die-off event occurred in the 1999-2000 season, when a total of 283 stranded whales in 1999 and 368 in 2000 were found displaying emaciated conditions (Gulland et al. 2005). This last die-off event occurred 20 years ago, and thus in my opinion, it is too soon to raise concerns about the long-term impacts on the ENP gray whale population, unless this event continues over multiple years.
Calambokidis, J. et al. 2002. Abundance, range and movements of a feeding aggregation of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) from California to southeastern Alaska in 1998. Journal of Cetacean research and Management. 4, 267-276.
Cascadia Research Collective (2019, May 10). Cascadia and other Washington stranding network organizations continue to respond to growing number of dead gray whales along our coast and inside waters. Retrieved from http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/washington-state-stranding-response/cascadia-and-other-washington-stranding-networkorganizations?fbclid=Iw AR1g7zc4EOMWr_wp_x39ertvzpjOnc1zZl7DoMbBcjI1Ic_EbUx2bX8_TBw
Conservation of change (2019, May 31). Limits to Growth: the first law of sustainability. Retrieved from http://www.conservationofchange.org/limits
CNN (2019, May 15). Dead gray whales keep washing ashore in the San Francisco Bay area.Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/15/us/gray-whale-deaths-trnd-sci/index.html
Gulland, F. M. D., H. Pérez-Cortés M., J. Urbán R., L. Rojas-Bracho, G. Ylitalo, J. Weir, S. A. Norman, M. M. Muto, D. J. Rugh, C. Kreuder, and T. Rowles. 2005. Eastern North Pacific gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) unusual mortality event, 1999-2000. U. S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-150, 33 p.
Harrison, X. A., et al., 2011. Carry-over effects as drivers of fitness differences in animals. Journal of Animal Ecology. 80, 4-18.
Jones, M. L., Swartz, S. L., Gray Whale, Eschrichtius robustus. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press, San Diego, 2002, pp. 524-536.
Paris (2019, May 27). Gray Whales Wash Up On West Coast At Near-Record Levels.Retrieved from https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/05/27/gray-whales-wash-up-record-levels
Sumich, J. L., 2014. E. robustus: The biology and human history of gray whales. Whale Cove Marine Education.
Wade, P. R., Perryman, W., An assessment of the eastern gray whale population in 2002. IWC, Vol. SC/54/BRG7 Shimonoseki, Japan, 2002, pp. 16.
Posted on June 4, 2019 Author lemoslCategories Impacts of ocean noise on gray whales, UncategorizedTags body condition, California, carcasses, carry-over effect, carrying capacity, die-off event, gray whale, K, Leila Lemos, mortality, Oregon, starvation, US West Coast, Washington1 Comment on Current gray whale die-off: a concern or simply the circle of life?


text:
Hippocratea L. – rodzaj roślin należący do rodziny dławiszowatych (Celastraceae R. Br.). Obejmuje co najmniej 16 gatunków występujących naturalnie w strefach tropikalnych całego świata.

Etymologia
Nazwa rodzajowa została nadana na cześć Hipokratesa – grecki lekarz, jeden z najwybitniejszych prekursorów współczesnej medycyny.

Morfologia
 Pokrój Krzew lub liany.
 Owoce Charakterystyczne strąki z trzema rozstawionymi zdrewniałymi torebki.

Systematyka
 Pozycja i podział według APWeb (2001...)
Rodzaj należący do rodziny dławiszowatych (Celastraceae R. Br.), rzędu dławiszowców (Celestrales Baskerville), należącego do kladu różowych w obrębie okrytonasiennych.

Według niektórych badaczy rodzaj ten uważany jest za osobną rodzinę.

 Wykaz gatunków

Przypisy

Dławiszowate

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
As the west goes terribly wrong, Arabs inch in the right direction
Global conflict Israel
November 28, 2019 November 28, 2019 Melanie	Gulf states, Israel, reformers, Saudi Arabia
As the west goes in one direction, so the Arab world is now going in the other.
While British and western "progressive" circles descend ever deeper into the sewers of antisemitism and its contemporary mutation, the campaign to exterminate the State of Israel, the Arab world is beginning to renounce its own desire to wipe Israel off the map.
Prominent figures from 15 Arab countries met in London last week to reject the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement — whose aim is to destroy Israel — and encourage the establishment of relations with Israel instead.
The Clarion Project reports that participants were drawn from Morocco, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and the Gulf states and included journalists, artists, politicians, diplomats, Quranic scholars, women and young people. The meeting was publicised only after its participants returned to their native countries. The New York Times was allowed to post a live stream of the meeting (held in Arabic) after the event.
"The Times reported that the group in London agreed that 'BDS] has only helped [Israel] while damaging Arab nations that have long shunned the Jewish state. Demonizing Israel has cost Arab nations billions in trade.' Mustafa el-Dessouki, an Egyptian who is the managing editor of the prominent news magazine Majalla (which is funded by Saudi Arabia), was one of the main organizers of the meeting.
"In recent travels around the Middle East, Dessouki said met many Arabs with similar views to his, including citizens of Lebanon. This was in spite of the fact that the Arab news media and entertainment industry have long been 'programming people toward this hostility' against Israel and Jews, he said, while politicians were 'intimidating and scaring people into manifesting it.'"
Meanwhile, also last week the Israeli foreign ministry brought to Israel a group of journalists from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Egypt.
"Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the journalists, who was described as a prominent figure in Saudi Arabia, said: 'There is no escape from establishing normal relations with Israel.' By 'normal relations' he said he meant 'real peace,' not the peace that is currently seen between the Egyptian and Jordanian governments with Israel, which he criticized for fomenting hate against Israel. In regards to the Palestinian issue, the Saudi said, 'Why should the Arab world ignite problems with Israel and the super-powers because of a small minority? This minority had a chance to form a state in '47 but refused because it only dealt with the question, "Why do the Jews have an independent country?""
"When asked about his experience touring Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, he said, "'When people heard I am from Saudi Arabia, they were amazed. Not in a hostile manner, but by accepting who I was. I love the Jewish people and all the citizens of Israel,' he concluded in Hebrew."
Wow. In a repressive state like Saudi Arabia, people do not speak out like this unless they know they have the tacit approval of the regime. And there have been others. In the summer a Saudi blogger, Mohammed Saud, was violently attacked by Palestinians when he made a high-profile visit to Israel. They spat at him and cursed him as an "animal" and a "Zionist", and one threw a plastic chair at him. But he still spoke out about what he had found.
"Visiting Israel, he said, was like 'being in heaven'. 'For those people who hate Israel,' he concluded, 'I would like you to think deeply, and I invite you to come and visit Israel. You will find a different experience. You will find that most of the propaganda and the bad media about Israel is not true.'''
Earlier in the year, after Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets at southern Israel over a two-day span resulting in Israeli air-strikes and the assassination of a top Hamas commander, several prominent Saudi journalists and intellectuals expressed support for Israel and blamed Iran for the outbreak in hostilities.
One of them, the former director of the Middle East Centre for Strategic and Legal Studies in Jeddah, Abd Al-Hamid Al-Hakim, wrote to the Israelis: "Our hearts are with you. May Allah protect Israel and its people. We will not let the treacherous hand of Iran and its agents in Gaza reach the Israeli people," he added.
Wow and wow again. Seasoned western observers of the Arab world, however, sniff that this is all merely tactical positioning, led by Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to gain the support of both Israel and the US in Saudi Arabia's battle against Iran and is of no lasting significance.
Maybe. We'll know for certain that something really momentous is happening if and when these Arab states stop pumping out their eye-watering Jewish conspiracy theories and deranged medieval blood libels about Jews using the blood of gentile children in baking their Passover matzos – the kind of murderous lies that are now being circulated as fact in degraded, de-moralised and decadent Britain (to the astonishment and horror of its many decent citizens, who are only now beginning to realise the nature and extent of the poison that is coursing through their country).
It's obviously advisable to be cautious. A few reforming voices in the Arab world don't necessarily mean a cultural revolution is under way. But it could just be that something quite revolutionary is now developing which hitherto would have been thought utterly impossible — an acceptance by the Arab world of the tiny, ancient homeland of the Jewish people alongside the vast lands of Islam.
History shows that societies which respect the Jews prosper; societies that despise them set the seal on their own destruction. It's a lesson that the Arab world may slowly be beginning to learn – while the west slides towards a cultural precipice that few within it even realise is there.
Trump has been proved right about Iran
Magical thinking by British politicians – again
China's persecution of its Muslim citizens
July 21, 2020 July 21, 2020 MelanieChina, indoctrination, internmemt camps, Uighurs
I am pleased to see that the plight of the Chinese Uighurs, which I noted last...
Britain Israel
Why Starmer cannot succeed over antisemitism
July 19, 2020 Melanieantisemitism, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Keir Starmer, Labour party
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has now sent its report on Labour antisemitism to the...
Coronavirus Global conflict Israel
Both hero and zero: Israel's strategic incoherence
July 10, 2020 Melaniecentrifuges, Coronavirus, explosions, Iran
While Israelis are increasingly alarmed by the government's loss of control over the coronavirus crisis, different...


This two-year program prepares students to become entry-level practitioners in the Occupational Therapy profession. The Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA/COTA) provides comprehensive OT services under the supervision of an occupational therapist (OT/OTR). OTA's are valued members of the health care team. They assist people of all ages and walks of life to maximize engagement and participation in desired and expected daily life activities through the use of occupations. KVCC has the only OTA program in the State of Maine. Graduates are eligible to sit for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam. Occupational Therapy Assistants must attain and maintain their own license in Maine.
Applicants to the OTA program should be aware that a criminal background check and Department of Education fingerprinting is required while they are enrolled in the program, or as a condition of employment in the field. Certain service learning/fieldwork/ practicum sites, such as health care facilities, will most likely limit or deny clinical privileges to those who have a prior or current criminal record. State licensing boards may refuse to issue a license to practice based upon prior or current criminal offense(s). For students to successfully complete the OTA program, they must be capable of performing the essential skills of the OTA student at KVCC, including professional and critical thinking skills with or without reasonable accommodations.
Successfully pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam.
Demonstrate the use of professional values consistent with the American Occupational Therapy Association Core Values and Ethics Statements, that allow them to function ethically and responsibly by demonstrating tolerance and respect for diversity of culture, age, gender, and ability.
Demonstrate effective communication with clients, families, supervisors, and other members of their work environment using cultural competence.
Employ critical thinking, logic, critical analysis, problem solving, and creativity within their scope of professional practice.
Participate in lifelong learning and professional competency activities as they relate to occupational therapy practice and professional choices.
Demonstrate entry level competence as an Occupational Therapy assistant.
Enter the Occupational Therapy profession prepared to work competently at entry level of practice.
Are eligible for certification by the NBCOT.
Are eligible for licensure by the State of Maine and/or chosen state of practice.
Incorporate values and attitudes congruent with the profession's standards and ethics into practice.
Provide occupational therapy services with necessary supervision in collaboration with occupational therapists and members of the health care community.
Implement a variety of effective communication skills when interacting with peers, clients, family members, and other health care providers.
Utilize individual creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills in all OT transactions and interventions.
Employ meaningful, culturally relevant, age suitable occupation as the focus of practice.
Articulate and promote awareness and understanding of the profession of Occupational Therapy and the Occupational Therapy Assistant's role within the profession to individuals with varied knowledge of the profession.
Assume responsibility for continued learning and skills development in Occupational Therapy practice to maintain service competency & currency with best practice.
Participate in the evaluation, planning, and implementation and outcome satisfaction under the supervision of an OT.
Participate in a systematic, ongoing evaluation of the OTA program to ensure quality of education.
Promote health, wellbeing, and participation in life through engagement in occupation for all people who have or are at risk of developing an illness, disability, condition or restriction in occupational performance.
Agree to work with an outside agency to collect, document, and track required personal healthcare information (immunization status, BLS/CPR, healthcare background checks, etc.) as required by the OTA program. Each student is responsible for the cost of this service. Students are required to meet the OTA program's deadlines for developing and maintaining a current personal healthcare information portfolio.
Have professional liability insurance and healthcare insurance.
Have internet access for email, online/blackboard enhanced coursework and/or discussion.
Purchase required books and a KVCC/OTAS identification pin.
Be capable of performing the essential skills and functions of the OTA student at KVCC with or without reasonable accommodations.
All OTA students must assume personal responsibility for attaining and maintaining the necessary immunizations, background check/fingerprinting and transportation and/or other living costs to and from statewide fieldwork education sites.
receive Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician/Community (MHRT/C) certification based on the educational competencies developed in the OTA program.
Students must complete 70 credits in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program, achieve a minimum grade of "C," or "PASS" criteria, in all courses, and attain a final GPA of 2.00 or higher.


Winterguard members practice spinning their flags as they prepare to travel to Coppell High School and participate in the NTCA Coppell High School Competition.
Waving flags, and fake flying rifles are all part of the show as winter guard prepares for their first competition of the year Saturday at Coppell High School for the NTCA Coppell High School Competition.
Both the varsity and junior varsity teams will compete in the local circuit with varsity's show named Lucy, and jv's show Symphony.
The winter guard teams began rehearsing in November and the season will go on until the end of March.
Updated: Sept. 27 to correct the last name of McKenna Hale. It was incorrectly written as Mendes.


My mother's Alzheimer's drove me to write. My writing inspired me to speak.
Over the last years, I have received enormous pleasure from connecting with people all over the world, sharing the stories of finding hope in the caregiver's journey.
I began noticing how fascinating my visits with Mom were; we were explorers on a wild inner trek.
I began documenting our time together, sometimes even taking notes during my visit. I wrote about the challenges, humor and blessings. I wrote about my conversations with my father, with friends and family and with the aides, the nurses, the social workers. As I wrote, I saw how much hope, promise and energy there was in my new world.
Instead of crying when I drove home, I thought about how I could transform my notes into a meaningful essay. As I shared my work with friends and with my writing critique partners, I realized I was chronicling my mom's last years and capturing part of our family history.
How do you take a challenging part of your life and bring it to the page?
1. Pour Out Your Feelings.
Give yourself time to feel your emotions, whether it's through writing, art, music or other.
3. Uncover the True Story.
I was lucky enough to read some of my stories to my mother and father and receive their blessing for my work. Anytime I featured people in a story, I shared it with them to make sure they were comfortable with the material. When they're comfortable, it's time to share with friends and a wider audience, if you wish.
What are some of your writing tips?
Deborah, excellent suggestions As I sat with my dying mother, I would take little breathing breaks, go in the dining room to my computer, and write out my frustrations, fears, and griefs. After a few minutes of typing, I was able to go on.
In eleven years I have only visited those files a few times. Perhaps one day I'll go back and use that material to encourage someone else on that journey into the valley of the shadow of death.
I love what you've done with your walk.
I love the idea of breathing breaks. You are always so encouraging to others: I love your idea of sharing your materials from that time.
I'm glad you included the "pour out your feelings" part. Sometimes that's the hardest part for us writers!


Hello Aspirants, Today we are sharing Reasoning Practice set e-book in Hindi. This pdf prepared and compiled by X-EEED Publications and credit goes to them. This pdf is very helpful for upcoming exams like IBPS, SBI, Clerk, PO, LIC, RBI, RRB, LIC and other common written competitive exams. You may download pdf from the link provided given below.